Slow cooker quinoa stuffing (dressing) is a deliciously different dish that is easy to make and wonderful to serve. Perfect for your holiday table, but easy enough to make any day of the week.
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How do you feel about quinoa? It seems to me that people either love it, or don't understand it.
I am on team LOVE! I love the texture and the little crunch/pop when you chew it. Most of all, I love how versatile it is. You can make it into almost anything you want and today - I wanted stuffing!!
📃Shopping list
To make this yummy casserole dish, you will need:
- Quinoa - any color works. I like the tri-color quinoa mixture.
- Vegetable broth - Chicken broth works too
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Butternut squash
- Dried cranberries
- Mushrooms
- Garlic - minced
- Poultry seasoning
- salt and black pepper - to taste
🔪How to make this amazing crock pot dish
Start by rinsing your uncooked quinoa in cold water. You should rinse it until the water runs clear. You do not need to soak it, just a quick rinse works.
Quinoa grows a naturally bitter coating to help it repel bugs and other predators. Rinsing will help remove any leftover bitterness.
Next chop all of your veggies. You want to chop the carrots and butternut squash into slightly smaller but uniform-sized pieces. This will ensure that they both cook all the way through at close to the same time.
Spray your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray of your choice. Add all of your ingredients to the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until all the veggies are soft and the quinoa grains pop open.
Add salt and pepper to your liking and enjoy!!
Pro-tip: Quinoa is ready to eat when you can see the germ. If you look closely, they will look almost like little mini bean sprouts.
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🍽Serving suggestions
Quinoa is such an amazing grain that cooking it with this vegetable mixture makes it a complete meal. It is a great way to get a complete protein and tons of fiber into your diet.
It's delicious topped with a dollop of sour cream, sliced green onion, and a sprinkle of extra garlic powder. Chopped fresh herbs, like thyme and sliced green onion also turn this into a prize among slow cooker recipes.
However, since this is meant to be a stuffing/dressing, you will want some other goodies on your table. Turkey breast, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin cheesecake bars are all great sidekicks!
A garden salad and some steamed broccoli would also make a great pairing. And - Pumpkin soup or turkey soup would round out this perfect meal as well.
If it is not a holiday time of year, this is the perfect dish to serve alongside a veggie lasagna or grilled fish dish.
Storing leftovers
Store your slow-cooked quinoa in an airtight container or zipper top plastic bag. It will last up to 7 days in the fridge and 3-4 months frozen.
If you love this recipe, please let me know in the comment section below!
🔄Substitutions
There are lots of easy substitutions that can be made to customize this crock-pot stuffing recipe to your liking. To start, rather than veggie broth, you can use chicken or mushroom broth.
Not a fan of butternut squash or mushrooms? No problem! You can swap them with everything from diced red bell peppers to black beans to parsnips!
I know (insert teenage-esque eye roll here!!!) - technically it isn't stuffing since I haven't stuffed/cooked it inside a bird.
This great recipe is particularly yummy! It is filled with a great veggie mixture and dried cranberries giving it a sweet and savory edge. It's the perfect gluten-free, healthy addition to your Christmas or Thanksgiving table.
😉Hints & hacks
- One really good thing: this recipe can be easily doubled if you are making a big Thanksgiving dinner. All instructions remain the same. Just keep an eye on the timing the first time you do it. Once you know the timing, future batches can be almost made with your eyes closed (almost).
- I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. Of course, this is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price.
- The best thing about this dish is how simple it is to make. No need to wait for a holiday dinner. It makes a great meatless Monday dish!
- If you are slow cooking for a holiday dinner, this is an easy dish to meal prep! All veggies can be cut in advance and stored with the seasonings in a zip top bag in the refrigerator. The only thing you will need to add, besides the broth, is quinoa. It is the perfect addition to any holiday menu since it does not use precious oven space.
- Looking to add an animal-based protein? Cooked ground chicken or ground turkey can be added along with the other ingredients.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!
- Don't forget to plug in your crockpot ! 😏
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📖 Recipe
Lazy Slow Cooker Quinoa Stuffing
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- Knife and cutting board
- fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa any color quinoa works
- 1 cup onions diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 2 cups button mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup butternut squash diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spraynon-stick cooking spray
- rinse quinoa in a cold water until water runs clear2 cups quinoa
- dice all vegetables into roughly the same size pieces.1 cup onions, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery, 1 cup butternut squash
- place all ingredients into slow cooker and stir to combine2 cups quinoa, 1 cup onions, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery, 1 cup dried cranberries, 2 cups button mushrooms, 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 tablespoon poultry seasoning, 4 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup butternut squash
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. You will know your dish is ready when the quinoa split open and all veggies are fork tender (see above details for more information)
Notes
Nutrition
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